Decisions
by crazychicken-79
Summary: Jack finally knows what he wants, but what about Sam? WIP
1. Default Chapter

Title: Decisions  
Author: Ines  
Email: ines.hamernik (at) chello.at  
Rating: PG-13  
Category: Romance/Angst/Humor  
Pairing: Jack/Sam  
Spoilers: None  
Season: 8 BUT Chimera never happened so Pete doesn't exist in my AU.  
Song/Lyrics: By Depeche Mode - It´s no good  
Archive: Others please let me know.  
Summary: Jack finally knows what he wants, but what about Sam?  
Disclaimers: Don't own them I have just borrowed Sam, Jack and Cassie to play a little bit with. I promise I'll not harm them and return them in one piece when I finished or get bored.

Author's Note: As always I have to thank my great beta Trish who encouraged me to write more stories. And thanks to all of you who reviewed to my other stories I appreciate this.

_Decisions_

It was a warm autumn day in the late afternoon. The sun had already set and it was getting dark outside. The normally quiet neighborhood was disturbed by loud music from General Jack O'Neill's house. Inside the house a birthday party was going on. Fifteen teenagers were dancing, laughing and talking to each other, which caused an enormous amount of noise, while a busy Carter tried to clean a wet spot left by a dropped paper cup. Vowing to herself to make him pay for leaving her alone with the crazy teens, she walked into the kitchen to get rid of the now wet dishtowel.

When Cassie had asked Jack two weeks ago if she could use his house for her birthday party, he had said yes without hesitation, although he had insisted on inviting Carter too. He told Cassie he wanted someone his age around to keep him company while fifteen teenagers occupied his house. It was a lame excuse to have her around and he had known it instantly, but Cassie had immediately agreed with a huge grin on her face.

Here he was ... on the top of his roof looking at the beautiful stars in the sky. It was just dark enough to watch them and what really mattered... it was the last quiet place in his house. After having had a discussion with one of the boys about the music level he had decided Carter could handle this on her own for a while.

´Good leadership training´, he thought. ´If she is able to handle a crowd of teens she is able to handle an army of Jaffa, too.´

Looking into the wonderful, cloudless and almost dark sky, he took a sip of his soda. He would never think of drinking alcohol when there were so many kids in his house... Impressionable teenagers he was responsible for.

Looking through his telescope he spotted a bright blue shining star... A star that reminded him of the one person he couldn't stop thinking of lately.

During the last few months he hadn't been able to think of anything else but her. He had tried to focus on other important stuff like taking care of the pile of paperwork that had covered his desk for the last 2 weeks, but his thoughts had always returned to her...

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_Two weeks ago_

He opened the file of a mission report and read the first sentence. Suddenly, the steam of a hot shower surrounded him. He took a look around in confusion and recognized his bathroom, but who was in the shower? Looking around again, his gaze landed on an unfamiliar pile of clothes. Clothes that he was pretty sure belonged to a woman. Glancing up, all he could see while looking through the steamed doors of his shower cubicle was the outline of a beautiful woman. She was slender and her legs seemed to be endless, while her movements were smooth and feminine. He wanted to know who was hiding behind the opaque door, he _needed_ to know... Just as he reached his hand out towards the barrier, the water cut off and the woman turned towards him. He held his breath as she reached for the handle... the door slowly opening...

„_Unauthorized Offworld activation ... Unauthorized Offworld activation_"

His head jerked up from his arms, where he had rested his head after falling asleep. The sound of the alarm klaxons was still ringing in his ears as he fought off the dregs of sleep. He took a last look at the opened file and read, „Team: SG-1. CO: Lieutenant Colonel S. Carter..." Thunderstruck, he felt everything come back to him in a rush. As the klaxons continued to ring, he realized that this was not time to think about the strange dream and rising, he headed for the gateroom.

_2 days later_

He was in a briefing with SG-3 about their next mission. Captain Miles explained the importance of their mission to help the people with medication, food and tools in order to get access to the Naquada mine they had found on a previous mission to PX5-776.

The fact that he was a General now, hadn't changed his behavior when he got bored during a briefing. The he wasn't paying much attention, was actually a flattering description of a General who was drawing little smiley faces all over the sheets Miles had handed out. Just as he finished a really fun one he heard something. At first he wasn't sure if the others heard it too, but as no one turned to look and Miles happily continued his explanations about the prevailing flora and fauna, he decided it had to be in his head.

_´Jack you have to go. ... Bring her something to eat. She is starving ... and exhausted´_, Jack turned to look at Miles, who was still describing an important flower, and held a hand up to stop him.

„As much as I love this interesting presentation about PX5-776 I have to stop this now. I've heard enough to instruct the President. Thank you gentleman," he told them. „Dismissed."

Confused, SG-3 left as they were told.

Still sitting at the head of the table, he pondered what he should do. He had known immediately whom the voice was referring to. It frightened him even more that he had instantly known. He made his decision and headed for the commissary and ordered Coffee and blue Jell-O and then made a beeline to her lab. He opened the door carefully, so as not to startle her... He'd made that mistake once, the result being a grouchy Major with a cut on her left hand. Slowly pushing the door handle while balancing the coffee and the blue Jell-O in his hands, he leaned his back against the door to push it open.

„Hey Car... " His voice trailed off immediately as he caught sight of her sleeping form.

He sat down on a free chair and just watched her. He was completely lost in time when he realized that he still held the coffee and the Jell-O in his hands. He sipped at the coffee and ate the blue Jell-O while watching her sleeping form.

´She looks so peaceful,´ he thought.

From time to time he pushed a silky stray lock of hair out of her face, smiling as she continued to sleep. He didn't know how long he'd sat there but it had to be hours... His back was sore from the uncomfortable lab chair and his knees hurt from the lack of movement. He could pay attention to a briefing only a certain amount of time but he never got tired of watching her, awake or asleep. Although he preferred to watch her asleep... that was when she let all of her guards down and he was able to get a slight glimpse of the real Samantha Carter.

Just as he decided to leave, he noticed Sam starting to stir. He quickly left her lab and headed for the security room.

_Last week_

He wasn't able to fall asleep. He had been lying awake in his bed for hours, sleep completely elusive. Each time he closed his eyes, pictures of her smiling face appeared. The vision was always the same. She wore that lovely summer dress in bright colors with flower patterns, her hair had become a little bit longer and the ring on her finger was sparkling in the sunshine. He could see her speaking as she walked over to him but he wasn't able to hear what she said. Standing in front of him only inches between them she closed the remaining distance. At this point the vision always faded. It took hours for him to finally find the much needed rest his body required. Exhausted, but with a smile on his face, he drifted off to sleep.

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Only offworld had he ever been able to collect his thoughts and force his mind to focus on what he was doing. But since he was now a General, it rarely happened that he went offworld with his team. His presence was always required on base.

Startled by the creak of the wooden floor he turned around to see the woman of his thoughts was standing before him. She looked exhausted, but nevertheless she was smiling at him. Although she looked tired to him, she was just as beautiful as ever. He caught himself staring at her with a dizzy smile on his face.

„Hi," he said, a little bit surprised by her sudden appearance in his hiding place. Shaking his head to regain some self-control, he asked, „What's up downstairs?"

„I was looking for you, Sir," she answered, forcing herself to sound serious.

Jack immediately felt sorry for leaving her with all of the work, knowing how frustrating dealing with teenagers could be. He started to apologize but didn't even get a chance to say something before she quietly cleared her throat, an indication she was up to something.

„I wanted to let you know, that one of the boys deleted one of your favorite Simpson's tapes by accident." Quickly adding the ‚Sir', she stared at him, waiting for any kind of reaction.

Jack knew immediately that she was kidding. He saved his tapes to avoid such accidents, pulling out this little piece of plastic; which, once removed, protected the tape from being deleted. Quickly deciding to let her have her fun, he played along. Eyes wide, he looked at her angrily. „You _are_ kidding, right?"

She shook her head no.

„How is this possible?" He asked the question, already knowing she would have made up an answer for him... His Carter always thought about a plan twice.

„Sir, they watched the tape and didn't turn off the VCR. One of the boys accidentally pushed the record button... They didn't realize it until it was too late." Her voice was soft as she told him her made-up story, trying desperately to stay serious.

He rose to his full height and took a step toward Sam and the ladder.

Not knowing he knew she was kidding, Sam decided the fun was over and stopped him by taking a step forward, resting her hands on his shoulders to stop him from going any further.

When he felt her hands on his shoulders through the thin fabric of his shirt, the vision of her in the lovely dress popped into his mind. He must have looked very confused, because she started to laugh at his expression.

´Yeah revenge can be really sweet', Sam thought, still looking at his now stupefied expression.

„No giggling Major!" The order came out much louder than he had intended it to.

„I'm not giggling Sir, I'm actually laughing," she managed to reply between the laughs.

Her laughing was infectious and he found himself joining her.

„Sorry Sir, I just wanted my revenge for being left alone with a crowd of teens with no respect," she gasped, still trying to get control of her laughter.

He watched her and there it was again. The vision of her in that dress. Something was different this time, the voice so quiet it was hard to understand as it whispered; ´_Jack... You know you love her.´ _

The voice sounded familiar to Jack but he still couldn't figure out to whom this voice belonged.

´Now the time is right to show her ... Or you will lose her forever. ... Hurry up! She wont wait forever ... DO something. NOW. You know you have no more regulations to prevent you, so what are you waiting for?´

„I know," was his short, barely understood answer. He wasn't sure himself, which statement he was actually replying to.

She was a little surprised by his last statement.

´I know? He knew. ... Crap. ... But if he had known, why had he looked so strange?´ Sam couldn't believe he knew and hadn't say something.

Suddenly, she realized that her hands were still resting on his shoulders and the space between them was very close. Just as their eyes met, the music reached new levels of loudness.

...

„...I don't know what it is  
That makes me feel like this  
I don't know who you are  
But you must be some kind of superstar  
Cus you got all eyes on you no matter where you are  
You just make me wanna play..."  
...

The lyrics floated up to them, clearly heard from downstairs.

Now Jacks' quiet, hiding place, wasn't so quiet anymore.

Lost in each other's eyes, the electricity between the two was nearly visible. They each stared into the others eyes, the need to say something gone. Years of suppressed feelings had taught them to show their affection for each other in different ways. Most of the time they didn't recognize their subtle flirting themselves, but it was there and had developed into an art form over the years. They had learned to show their affection to each other with only a glance, a smile or a nod and most of the time it had been enough. But something had changed, Jack wanted more. It wasn't enough anymore to just look at her; he wanted to touch her, to hold her in his arms. He wanted to be there for her when she felt bad, to be able to show his feelings for her in public. He wanted to wake up with her in his arms every morning for the rest of his life. He wanted to kiss her, to make love to her. He wanted to be able to tell her that he loved her. He wanted her so much it hurt.

She thought about his behavior over the last few months and realized that something was different. She was used to his visits in her lab, but there was more to it than that. When she thought about it, she realized he was less distanced now. He smiled at her more often... Ok it had happened before, but during the last few weeks he had come to her office nearly every day, twice sometimes, to check if she needed something or only to distract himself. He brought her coffee and ordered her off base if she was working too hard. In the past he had been caring too, but he hadn't showed it as obviously as he was now.

After the Zatarc debacle she knew he cared more than he was supposed to, but feelings can change easily. And there were always the damn regs hanging over their heads like the Sword of Damocles. She had always wanted to be in the Air Force, it had been everything to her. She'd worked hard to be where she was today, ignoring some of the important things in life to succeed. And she had. She'd just been promoted ... By him. What would people on base think if they started a relationship? Many of them knew she earned that promotion... She had saved their lives many times, not to mention the planet, but there would be always someone who would be jealous.

The grapevine on base was already out of control. Two weeks ago she'd overheard a conversation between two young Airmen about a bet. She couldn't understand everything they'd said, but it concerned a bet about herself and the General. Something about what the General had done while he spent hours in her office. She was too angry to say anything she wouldn't regret later and had let it go. The next day Daniel started to act strange... Well stranger than usual. He'd wanted to know if she had seen the General the day before. When she had told him she hadn't seen him, he'd looked disappointed. If such stupid, untrue rumors got that much attention, what would happen if something real ever happened? She loved him, but she couldn't gamble her career, not even for him. She sighed and closed her eyes.

As her eyes closed, a vision of Jack sitting on a park bench came to her mind. She could see herself walking over to him. She wore a nice dress and her hair was longer. Now she was standing in front of him and when he rose he hugged her tightly. He looked so happy... she had never seen him smile like that.

All of a sudden everything went black and she opened her eyes, meeting the intense gaze of his chocolate brown eyes.

They didn't recognize a new song had been started.

_„...I'm going to take my time  
I have all the time in the world  
To make you mine  
__It is written in the stars above  
__The gods decree  
__You'll be right here by my side  
__Right next to me  
__You can run but you cannot hide..."_

She knew she had to do something, although a part of her wanted to stay. She tried but wasn't able to pull her eyes away from his gaze. She had seen so much in his eyes, things she never recognized before... Or did she never recognize them because she feared the consequences if she did?

´Sam, you left it in that room... You decided it was best a long time ago,´ the voice in her head chastised her.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't recognize that Jack had moved closer until she was able to feel his breath right next to her left ear. His closeness caused goose bumps on her skin and the argument in her head between Sam the woman and Sam the soldier was over. The soldier surrendered ... for the moment.

„Everything ok with you? You look.... cold," he softly whispered.

Guessing she didn't shiver because she felt cold, he didn't know what else to say. His own thoughts were driving him crazy. He wanted her so much, but he had to wait for a sign… something, _anything_, that told him she was ready for him. Ready for their love.

She felt his warm breath on her sensitive skin and a shiver ran down her spine. Jack recognized this too and wrapped his arms around her and embraced her tightly.

"..._Don't say you want me  
__Don't say you need me  
__Don't say you love me  
__It's understood  
__Don't say you're happy  
__Out there without me  
__I know you can't be  
__'cause it's no good..."_

_  
_

Jack started to sway slowly to the music, taking Sam with him, softly rocking back and forth to the rhythm of the music. Enjoying the perfect moment, Jack hummed to the familiar song. He didn't know when the next opportunity would occur to have her this close. He inhaled deeply of her scent... the one he loved so much and moved slowly to the music, the woman he was in love with wrapped securely in his arms. 

Sam was so lost in thought she didn't even recognize they had started dancing. Her mind was still trying to figure out what this vision was about. Maybe a sign to follow her feelings? Maybe. Or something her subconscious was trying to tell her. God knew she wanted him more than anything else but she couldn't risk their careers. Both had been recently promoted....

"..._I'll be fine  
__I'll be waiting patiently  
__Till you see the signs  
__And come running to my open arms  
__When will you realize  
__Do we have to wait till our worlds collide  
__Open up your eyes  
__You can't turn back the tide..."_

**_Smash._**

Startled by the sound, she was suddenly aware of where she was and in whose arms she was dancing, even as she recognised how good it felt. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes slowly as a vision of Jack appeared. There he was again, sitting on that park bench smiling and waiting for her.

**_Crash_. **

The sound of glass smashing followed by Cassie's loud voice shouting at someone startled her out of her thoughts once more. Sam pulled her head up from where it had been resting on his chest and looked down the ladder.

"..._Don't say you want me_

_Don't say you need me  
__Don't say you love me  
__It's understood  
__Don't say you're happy  
__Out there without me  
__I know you can't be  
__'cause it's no good..."_

Jack followed her movements and as she turned her head back, to him their noses bumped.

He could feel the light touch as their noses met.

_´Maybe you won't get another chance ... Now or never... Do something... Jaaack forcryingoutloud! ...Don't be a jerk!´ , _The familiar voice yelled at him.

He couldn't resist anymore. The voice was right. Why wait? Closing the remaining space between them, he closed his eyes and kissed her softly on the lips. His heart beginning to sink when she didn't respond.

Sam didn't know how long she'd been lost in her thoughts when soft lips caressing hers suddenly startled her.

_´Oh. My. God_,´ was all she was able to think of.

Eyes still closed she slowly parted her lips. She wasn't sure if this was real or a figment of her imagination. She felt his wet tongue on her lips and realized that this had to be real. Opening her mouth a little more, she felt him immediately respond to the new circumstances. As their tongues met, both felt the electricity rush through their bodies and all thoughts about regulations and other uncertainties were gone.

"..._I'm going to take my time  
__I have all the time in the world  
__To make you mine  
_It is written in the stars above..."

Freed of all sorrows, the tension between them vanished and they relaxed for the first time. They were only Jack and Sam. Man and woman. Two people sharing the greatest gift on earth: Love. The kiss became more intense the longer it lasted. Arms wrapped tightly around each other as hands began to slowly make their ways along the other's body. Sam tangled her slender fingers in Jacks' short hair, as he cupped her face with both hands, kissing her with a passion he thought he had lost a long time ago. They kissed until both were breathless.

Gasping for air, Sam rested her head on Jacks chest, smiling as she felt him drawing patterns on the small of her back. Together they moved to the music.

_„...Don't say you want me  
__Don't say you need me  
__Don't say you love me  
__It's understood  
__Don't say you're happy  
__Out there without me  
__I know you can't be  
__'cause it's no good..."_

The song stopped and they stopped dancing.

As the music faded, the soldier in Sam's mind woke up and yelled at her ´Why are you so stupid? ... Do you want to lose _everything_ for a few hours of happiness? ... I know you love him, but you can't let your feelings overwhelm you. Not now. You have suppressed them this long and everything was fine.´

´Yeah. Sure. Everything was fine,´ was her sarcastic response to the voice.

_´The time will soon come for you two_,´ another voice in her spoke.

´You could stop now and pretend nothing ever happened´ she thought, pulling away from him. She was angry... not with him, but with herself for not being able to resist, for not being strong enough to say no.

Jack had felt the tension begin to rise in her after the song ended and allowed her to take a step back from him. But he had no intention of letting her go, not like this. There were too many things left unspoken.

He was so unsure of the situation. Maybe the kiss was a huge mistake and he had screwed up everything they had between them. She looked so angry and hurt... Then there it was again, the picture of her in the park with this incredible smile on her lips. He didn't hear the voice anymore, as he thought; It's now or never He forced so much love in this one kiss, and she responded with so much passion, that he couldn't put his hope away that easily. For the last few weeks he had thought a lot about resigning, the regulations that kept them apart and had come to the conclusion he would do anything, even resign, if there were no other possibilities for him to be with her. He would do it for her, for him, for _them_.

Then General Hammond sent him a letter attached with a Presidential order. The fraternization regulations had been immediatley reversed for the SGC said the order.

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_4 days ago_

As Jack read the order, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Finally, after 8 years, he was officially allowed to take Carter on a fishing trip up to his cabin. First, he wanted to run to her lab and tell her about the news but then he decided against telling her. He didn't want to rush her. She should be able to decide on her own if she wanted a relationship with him or not. He wasn't even sure if she cared for him anymore, as she had admitted to during the Zatarc testing. What if she had another guy, someone she had fallen in love with? He wasn't sure about that, he didn't ask her such personal questions. Either Daniel or Teal'c would have known and would have told him, but he couldn't be completely sure. He spent the rest of the day wondering what he should do. In the end he decided he would wait and see how things developed. Maybe he should wait for a sign or something... a touch, a word, anything that could assure him she still had feelings for him.

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Still angry about herself she started to rise. Jack immediately recognised her movement and reaching for her, said softly „Don't go. ... Not like this, ... Please."

She stared at the ground, unable to look into his pleading brown eyes. She could hear both the fear and the love in his voice, and it made her stand frozen in front of him, not knowing what to do next. Thousands of thoughts crossed her mind... Should she take the next step in her life, a life in which exists no General, Sir; Colonel or Carter, but only Sam and Jack or should she turn on her heels and run?

She was still lost in her thoughts on whether to run away or to take the chance of her life and reach for the happiness standing in front of her, when Jack reached out one hand to touch her.

_Ring! Ring!_

Suddenly his cell phone rang. Cursing himself for not turning it off, he looked at the display, which read, „SpaceMonkey".

Great timing as usual, Jack thought and answered the call.

„Yes!" He knew he sounded ruder than he wanted to, but didn't care.

„Sorry, did I disturb you?" Daniel's voice filtered through the speaker.

„No, not anymore than usual." Jack struggled to hide his frustration, but was a bit annoyed by Daniels bad timing.

„I'm just calling to tell you I'm not going to make it to Cassie's party in time. My car refuses to start... Siler's promised to take a look at it, but I don't know how long it will take to get the car ready."

While listening to Daniels explanations about his cranky car, Jack turned to look out at his beautiful, but dark back yard.

„I'll tell her, but she will be disappointed if you don't show up," was Jacks answer, as he tried to get rid of his friend as quickly as possible.

„Tell her I love her and I'll figure something out to make it up to her if it's too late to come over. See you." With a soft click, Daniel hung up.

With one last look at the display, Jack turned back where Sam was supposed to be... But she was gone and he was alone on his roof.

TBC


	2. Finding Sam

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter but I had been locked out because I posted a dialoge based story which isn´t allowed.

Thanks and huggs to all of you who reviewed it keeps me writing more.

Chapter 2 - Finding Sam

When Jack had turned his back on her, she had decided to leave. She didn´t know what to do... she had to think about the recent events. She quickly searched the room for Cassie and spotted her in the kitchen.

"Hey birthday girl, I have to go now," she said softly, trying to sound as casual as possible considering the circumstances. She'd just left the man she was in love with ... the man she kissed a few minutes ago. Alone, on the top of his roof, without even saying a single word. But it couldnt be helped. She had some major thinking to do about the recent events and she couldn´t start something with him, that both of them might later regret...

"Why? It´s only nine o'clock, I thought you would stay till the party was over." Cassie said disappointed.

"Ahem.... What... Ah... Sorry honey, but I have to go. Let Ja... the _Colonel _know he is now responsible for all of you." Hugging her tightly she turned and headed for the door, leaving a stunned Cassie behind.

Cassie had instantly noticed Sam´s slip and wondered if something happend between the two people she loved like parents. She loved the idea of them being together... they deserved to be happy. But she knew there were rules that kept them from being more than friends. Wanting to know what happened she started looking for Jack. It didn´t take her long to find him on the roof.

_Clump, clump, clump, clump..._

"Hi Cassie, how is your party going?" Jack had heard her climbing up the ladder, her approach unmistakeable in her shoes.

"Great. Jack ... What´s happened between you two?" she asked him straight away.

He honestly wasn´t in the mood to talk to someone about his mood, but it _was _her birthday party, so at least he could try to sound friendly. He still couldn´t believe Sam had left. If she didn´t want to be with him, why had she kissed him like she did...

"Ahem. Whom ?" He knew she was talking about himself and Sam, but he wouldn´t confess anything before he'd got a chance to talk to Sam.

Something had happened... she could tell by the way Jack was looking at her. His eyes were sad and his whole expression was that of a man whose heart had been broken. She had seen something like that various times on Talk Shows.

"Uncle Jack... don´t play dumb with me. You knew exactly that I mean Sam. So tell me what´s happened?" She was so angry at him for brushing her off. Even she was a teenager, she understood a lot of things and maybe she would be able to help.

"Oh ...," As if he hadn´t known to whom she was refering to. "Have you seen her?" He had to talk to her, but he couldn´t do that if he didnt know where she went. OH GOD Jack. You spent so many years in Special Ops and can´t come up with something to locate her? Maybe you should try to use your brain and think of something to find her an angry voice yelled in his head causing Jack to twich.

Cassey was deep in thoughts about why Sam left and why Jack was still here and didn´t recognise Jacks sudden movement.

"She left a view minutes ago. I should tell you, that you are now responsible for the party" she told him.

"Oh.... Do you know if she headed home?"

"No, she didn´t tell me where she was going... What have you done to her? She seemed pretty distracted?" She really wanted to know now.

"Yeah see... I .... She .... We ..." he stuttered.

"Oh that pretty much explains everything!" she exclaimed, rudely interrupting him in the same sarcastic way. Jack O´Neill couldn´t have done better himself.

"I would suggest you go after her and talk to her." Talking is allways good in such situations.

"I can´t," he said in a low sad voice. He wanted to go, but there were the kids he was responsible for still in his house. Smiling at her, he added, "I can´t leave all of you alone in my house"

"Call Daniel," Cassey suggested.

"He called me half an hour ago, his car refuses to start. I'm supposed to tell you he´ll make it up to you if he doesn´t make it in time." Offering another smile, repeated what Daniel had told him.

"Oh..." She loved Daniel. He was always there for her and she would be really sad if he had to miss her party, but at the moment she had more important things to take care of.

"What about Teal´c? Is he back from Chulak yet?" Teal´c would be a fun addition to her party.

She'd already started to figure out which games they could play with him. Yes, she´ll show him a few games played on earth on teenage birthday parties. I wonder if he has ever heard of Spin the bottle? I´ll ask him later,she thought, with a gleam in her eyes.

Meanwhile Jack held a mental discussion, trying to decide if it would be alright to let Teal´c watch over them and decided he couldn´t leave his Jaffa friend alone with these teenagers .

"Yeah, that would suit you," he told her, with the hint of a grin on his lips. He was remembering his own teenage years and the way he tried to convience his parents to let him go to this Rock Festival with his friends without adults. The smile on his face faded as he stated, "Poor innocent Teal´c with these friends of yours.... No way" .

"Please Uncle Jack we'll behave, I promise," she pleaded. "Go to her. I´m sure she needs you as much right now as you need her"

Cassie is right,he thought. 'Maybe she needed him and wanted to talk to him but feared the consequences if she told him about her feelings... Maybe it was a really, really bad idea to keep the news about the order from the President from her. Although he was curious to see if she would break the Regs for him. He wouldn´t want her to deliberately ignore the regulations or end up getting Court Martialed, but it would have made him feel special. Not every man can say that his girlfriend loved him so much that she would accept a Court Martial to be with him...' So he decided to let Teal´c have the chance to get his first experience with a teenagers birthday party. Maybe he´ll appreciate it and learn how birthdays were celebrated on earth... Maybe.

"Ok, I will see what I can do. Now go downstairs to those little friends of yours and celebrate. I will phone Teal´c and ask him."

Yeah, party without adults, only Teal´c! This is gonna be the best party I´ve ever hadshe thought, while heading back to the party.

"Hey T, it´s me, Jack."

"Nice to hear from you O´Neill. What can I do for you?"

"Ahem ..." Deciding on how he should start, he cleared his throat, saying, "I had a little confrontation with Carter and she left. I would go after her, but I can´t leave because the house is full of kids. I wanted to ask you if you would look after them for a few hours until I´m back."

"This would be a great pleasure, O´Neill. I´ll be at your place in half an hour."

"Thanks T, you saved my life." Thinking this was much easier then he had hoped it would be, he left his hidding place. 'Now, I will always remember that as the place I kissed Sam for the first time.' He climbed down the ladder to tell Cassie the news that Uncle Murray would be there soon. He found her in the left corner of his living room, giggling with two girls he recognised as Eri and Fran. He walked over and greated them, feeling a bit better ... Now he had a plan to find Sam.

"Ladies, would you mind if I talk to Cassie for a moment?" he asked, with a lot of charm in it. Which Cassie interpreted as a good sign and smiled at him happily.

The two girls giggled and left Jack and Cassie alone.

"Ok, Murray will be here in 30 minutes ..." he was interrupted by Cassie who upon hearing the good news, began jumping up and down.

Already beginning to curse his decision to leave them alone with Teal´c, he continued, "You will behave like you promised. The party is over at 1200, understood? If I´m back or not you will send all of them home."

"Yes, like I promised. ... Now go and talk to her." She had to try but he wouldn´t do her that favour. He knew exactly what she was trying to do... Get rid of him as soon as possible! But that was not going to work with him, he could wait til Teal´c appeared. He could use the extra time to think and there were a lot of things he for him to think about. He was already deep in thoughts, when Cassie reminded him that she was still standing in front of him by waving a hand in front of his face. It took a few secondes til he finally recognised the waving hand.

"Ah, Jack everything ok? You... look a little strange," she asked him, worry clouding her voice.

Startled by the waving hand and her voice, he shook his head and pretended everything was ok and that he just needed time to think of one or two things. So she left him standing in the corner of his living room, totally lost in his thoughts about a certain blonde and walked over to two boys. Dominik and Jason were sitting on the couch, obviously having a heated discussion about a football game.

After standing in the corner for god only knows how long, he walked over to his arm chair and sat down. He saw an image of Sam standing before him and resting her hands on his shoulders her whole body shuddered from laughing. Everything was perfect in this short moment. Why was she gone? No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn´t figure out. They could have discussed everything and could have found a solution, but now it was complicated by her absence. First he had to check the base, thinking that maybe she was trying to get distracted by one of her experiments. Second, her house... maybe it was that easy and she just went home. Third... Frowning, Jack decided that he would think about point 3 later.

Waiting for Teal´c to show up, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small sparkling ring. He'd bought it 3 years ago after the Zartac debacle. He'd gone shopping with Cassie and there he had spotted the most brilliant engagement ring he had ever seen and bought it... Without Cassie's knowledge, of course. It was a simple ring with one beautiful Diamond in the middle. The sparkling reminded him of her blue eyes. He'd been carrying the ring since then, pulling it out occasionally, usually when he felt lonely. Sometimes he thought about their relationship, or better yet, the lack of it, and sometimes he just thought of Sam. Pictures of a smiling Sam popped up in his head.

The doorbell rang and Cassie opened the door. A well mooded, if you could say something like that about a Jaffa, was standing before her.

"Hi T ... ahem Murray, how are you doing"

"Thank you Cassandra everything is fine. I´m supposed to look after you and your friends. Is O´Neill in there?" he asked, pointing in the hall towards the living room.

"Yeah. Living room." She let him step in and lead him down the hall.

"Greetings O´Neill." He didn´t get a response. "O´Neill!" He tried it louder this time and it seemed to work.

Quickly hidding the ring, Jack turned and looked at the Jaffa.

"Forcryinoutloud ... Why are you yelling at me?" he yelled back, a little surprised by Teal'c's sudden appearence. Hadn´t he just phoned him... he looked at his clock, 40 minutes ago. Lost in timehe thought.

Murray and Cassie exchanged a short gaze of worry at Jack's sudden outburst. Of course Murray only raised his eyebrow.

Mind focused from the yelling, Jack started to brief Murray, regardless if he was ready or not, "Ok. They are supposed to leave at 1200 and they know it, so don´t let yourself get pulled into a discussion about it. Cassie promised she would behave, as well as her friends. Don´t let the music get any louder and watch the boys. I'm going to look for Sam now."

He was so focused on telling Murray every important fact, that he didn´t even recognised he called her Sam. But Murray and Cassie instantly recognised it and shared an slightly amused glance.

Meanwhile Jack continued "I don´t know when I'll be back, so you can sleep in the guest room if it´s too late to get back to base." With that, he stood up, already heading for the front door. On the way, he grabbed his keys and jacket and left the house.

He started his car and drove off to Sams house. While driving he searched for his cell phone. Crap. He just crossed a red light. He had to be more careful if he wanted to talk to Sam in _this_ life. He tossed the phone on the passenger seat and focused on the task at hand. To drive. Safely.

It took him 15 minutes to get to her house, and parking in an empty space, he grabbed his cell phone, quickly dialing the base. He talked to one of the SFs at the entrance and smiled as the Airman informed him that she hadn´t signed in.

Sitting in the car in front of her house, he suddenly felt like he was a 16 year old boy who wanted to ask his girl for a date but wasn't sure if she would say yes. His hands became sweaty and his pulse started to race. She could do all these things to him without even be present. Forcing his body to do what he demanded, he left the car and walked up the pathway leading to her pretty house. The house was completly dark, with no lights or other signs of someone being at home. He hoped she hadn´t already gone to bed. He knocked twice and waited. ... Nothing. He knocked one more time, pausing as he heard a low sound inside. Straightening his back, he held his breath as the lights went on and the door opened...

TBC  
  
I have to apologize for my muse... She seems to love to torture you with cliffhangers!!


	3. A birthday party, a game and Teal´c

Sorry this took me so long but I was pretty busy during the last month. Thanx for to great reviews! Did I mention I love to get reviews? :-) ...

Chapter 3

Meanwhile in the Generals house... Teal´c and Cassie walked into the kitchen to get a chance to talk privately. They chatted ... well, Cassie did most of the talking while Teal´c listened attentively. She explained the meaning of a birthday party to him as he occasionally nodded his head slightly.

Teal´c was very interested in this event. Since he would be moving into his own apartement soon, he was even more interested in earth habbits. He listened carefully to Cassie's explainations of the importance of celebrating birthdays and why people were given presents. Teal´c wasn´t sure if he totally understood these strange habits completly. Honestly he didn´t know why the Tau´ri felt the need to celebrate when they become another year older. As warrior it was a previlege to celebrate your birthday because it meant you were still alive, but the difference between Earth celebrations and the ceremony on Chulak were huge. On Chulak it was common to invite the family members and the closest friends to a meal which was followed by a twenty-four hour medition. On Earth, it appeared that anyone was invited to the party full of fun and games...

In the living room Dominik and his friend Jason were excited as they discussed the arrival of their new chaperon.

Dominik asked Jason, "Have you seen this guy? He is huge!"

"Yeah, he is. Do you know who he is?" He figured Dominik would know because Cassie was his girlfriend, thought Jason .

"Cassie once mentioned someone called Murray. I think _this_ is Murray," Dominik pointed towards the kitchen as he remembered Cassie once telling him about a friend of her Mom... One whose discription fit this "Murray" almost perfectly.

"How about a game?" Another boy jumped into the conversation, his eyes darting anxiously around the room. He was obviously suffering from an overdose of sugar, jumping up and down while waiting for an answer.

"Sure, why not Andrew." Jason replied, grinning.

"Cassie. How about a game?" Dominik shouted in Cassie's direction.

Hearing her name, Cassie looked in the direction it come from and met Dominik's gaze with a smile of her own. "Sounds fun... How about 7 minutes in heaven?" she shouted back. Some of the girls sighed but most of the boys were really excited about the chance of being alone with a girl in a dark room for 7 minutes.

Cassie walked over with Teal´c right behind her and intruduced him to her friends who were now crowded around the couch table. "Guys this is Murray. He is .... Is my .... Ahem ... He is my uncle."

Teal´c nodded his head during Cassie's introduction, and the fairest hint of a smile appeared on his face only to vanish a few seconds later as someone stated, "Ahem Cassie... How could it be that he is your uncle... It´s obvious..."

"He is my mother's sister's husband, so he _is_ my uncle. Thanks Stan for mentioning it" Cassie's tone dripped with sarcasm, showing how annoyed she was by the rude behavior of one of her friends.

Dominic was sure Cassie had never mentioned an _uncle _called Murray, and reminded himself to ask her later.

All the kids were now gathered around the coffee table, some sitting on the couch or the chairs, but most of them sat on the floor. Cassie introduced them one by one to Teal´c and made sure he understood their names and was able to remember them.

"It is nice to meet all of you," Teal´c finally managed to say, apparently overwhelmed by the large group.

Many "Hi´s" and "Hello´s" followed, all spoken simultaniously from the kids.

A girl with long blonde hair, who looked younger than the others, was sitting in one of the comfy arm chairs and stood up gesturing for Teal´c to take her seat. Teal´c walked over and sat down, nodding at the girl with a slight smile on his lips. The girl caught the smile and immediately felt precious, knowing it was a previlege as she sat down right next to the chair on the floor.

Cassie, still standing, clapped her hands and said "Ok. Lets the game begin."

She searched for a sheet of paper and a pencil, then tore the paper into little pieces. On each piece she wrote the names of the people in the room, starting with Teal´c. Then, having divided the boy and girl names, she put them into two boxes. With another smile, she stated, "Everyone knows the rules, so here we go"

"Cassendr...." Teal´c tried to get her attention as she reached into the box, pulling out two names, but she didn't hear him. He didn´t know the rules for 7 minutes in heaven, not quite sure he even liked the name, but found no way to tell her as she told them the first two names.

"Jason and Fran" Indicating the small storeroom with a grin on her face she said, "Have fun you two"

Jason was nervously watching Fran, who was sitting next to him on the couch, trying to get some kind of a sign that would tell him she was glad it was him. Fran felt her face flush red as she glanced at him through her eyelashes. She'd had a crush on this guy for over a year now and couldn´t believe she would get to spend the next few minutes in a dark room with him. She looked in his eyes and nodded. This was enough for Jason to take the initiative. He stood up and reached for her hand, Fran accepting his instantly as she allowed him to lead her to the door to their heaven ... at least for the next 7 minutes. Dominik took a look at his watch and positioned himself in front of the door.

"Ahhh ... You stupid s.... Watch were you put your feet!" Fran's irritated voice was heard outside, to Dominics amusement.

"It´s pretty hard to see without light." Jason complained.

Then, loud sounds from things falling down and screams of the two inside could be heard. Pulling giggles from the others in the living room. worried something could have hit one of them, Dominik asked, "Everything OK?"

"Nah... Everything's ok," came Jasons muffled voice through the door.

"3 minutes left!" Dominik told them.

"2 minutes left"

"Shut up" came from inside, followed by a muffled giggle.

"1 minute"

Dominik opened the door and a picture of chaos met him. Fran blushed instantly as the door was opened. She was spread out on the floor, Jason above her covered with old boxes and pictures. Deciding that it couldn´t be that bad because Jason wore a huge smile on his face, Dominic laughed and helped his friend to his feet. They cleared the mess as fast as they could, putting all of the pictures back in the boxes and storing them securely on the shelves.

Back in the living room Cassie pulled the next two names out of the boxes.

"Jenny ... and ... Murray" Cassie smothered a laugh as she watched Teal´c and the girl beside him as Jenny jumped up and grapped Teal´c's big hand, pulling him out of his chair and to the storage room. Sure... she would have had no chance if Teal´c wasn´t willing to move, but he was so fascinated by this game that he wanted to know what they´d do in the room.

But there was one problem. Teal´c didn´t fit in the storage room. If he'd been alone he could have managed somehow, but there was no way that Jenny and he would fit in this tiny little room. Dominik saw the problem instantly and told them they should use the bathroom.

"But don´t switch the light on!" he told them, while walking slowly over to the bathroom to stand guard.

"OK. Seven minutes you two." Dominik reminded them.

Inside the bathroom it was dark ... really dark. Teal´c moved over to where the bath tub was supposed to be, but slipped on something and started to fall. He tried to prevent the fall by uncontrolled movements of his arms. Finally his right hand found something and he grabbed hold of it. Unfortunately, whatever it was didn´t stand his weight and with a loud noise, it broke. Teal´c fell on his back, covered by something he guessed had to be the shower curtain.

Hearing the noise inside, Dominik asked if everything was alright but got no answer.

Meanwhile in the living room a boy named Brain stood up from his comfortable place on the couch beside his girlfriend and slipped into the kitchen. He searched through the contents of the fridge and there it was behind what appeared to be a science experiment involving a large jar of salsa. He pulled the can out, shoving it in one of the large pockets of his baggy pants. Returning to the living room he stopped in the doorframe trying to get the attention of his girlfriend.

She didn´t see him immediatly, but as his movements became more erratic, she finally saw him, and rose, following him down the hall. The others were deep in a conversation about Cassie's Uncle Murray and never missed her leaving.

_Back in the bathroom. _

"Murray! Everything ok. ... Did you get hurt? ... I can´t see you. ... Where are you?" The young girl called, her voice full of fear. Frightened by the sound of him hitting the floor and the fact that she wasn´t able to see the slightest motion, she searched frantically for the light switch.

"Murray, Jenny everything ok?" Dominik tried to get an answer.

"I am fine. Thank you." Teal´c asked both questions at once. Sitting up slowly, he remained where he was, knowing better than to get up again. If he even tried, there was a good chance of falling again, so he decided to stay where he'd landed. Leaning against the wall of the tub he was now able to feel on his back, he added, "But, I have one question I demand to get answered."

"And what do you want to know?" Jenny replied, her tone puzzled as she stopped her search for the switch.

"Why is the room supposed to be dark?" Teal´c asked her seriously.

"Mhh. Maybe it´s nicer if you do not see the boy you kiss?" It was more a question than an answer, but as Teal´c heard the part with the kiss he asked "Kiss? You play this game to kiss a boy?"

"Yeah. I believe that is why this game is played." She wasn´t completly sure why it was fun to kiss a boy you probably didn't know, but her big sister Fran told her it was.

Teal´c stood up, turning in the direction he guessed was the door. When he turned his shoe tangled with the layer and suddenly he was falling ... again. But this time he fell forward against the door, his heavy weight causing the door to fly open.

Dominik was glancing at his watch to check the time, when suddenly the door burst open and Teal´c fell out, tackling him. Seconds later Jenny came through the door and saw Teal´c on top of Dominik. The large man rolled off the boy who was caged beneath him, and kneeling down beside a shocked Dominik, she found him gasping for air. Worry was written on her face as she asked, "Everything ok?"

"How do you feel?" asked the now standing Teal´c.

"Wow, that was quite a hit. Have you ever played football?" the boy asked, slowly sitting up.

"I´m glad you did not get hurt. And no, I have never played this game called football before." Teal´c told him, glad the boy was alright.

"You should play!" Dominik told him with a grin and stood up. Together they walked through the hall to see what the rest of the party was doing, completly forgetting the broken shower curtain.

"Hey! How was it in heaven?" Cassie wanted to know as they sat down around the table.

"It was dark" Teal´c answered, smiling at Jenny who had chosen the place beside him.

"Now it is time to show you how people of your age play on my pl... ace!" he corrected his near slip.

"And what place is it you come from?" One boy wanted to know.

"Morroco!" Cassie shouted before Teal´c could manage to say reply. "He grew up in Morroco." she added.

"Cool. What kind of games do you play in Marroco, Murray?" a blonde girl asked.

_Knock, knock ... Knock, knock_

Nobody could hear the knocking on the front door because the music was so loud. Though not as loud as before, it was still loud enough to not hear the knocking. The person knocking fruitlessly on the outside finally lost his temper and opened the door ...

TBC

I know I know it´s cruel to write a Teal´c chapter now but a writer has to write what her muse told her. The next chapter is already written and should be posted soon ... It´s a Sam and Jack chapter I promise! Let me know what do you think about this chapter and review, please.


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